Nutraceuticals, are foods or bioactive ingredients in foods that protect or promote health whether delivered in raw agricultural commodities, processed foods, dietary supplements, extracts, beverages or other products and occurs at the intersection of food and pharmaceutical industries. The development of next generation nutraceutical “super foods” or products consisting value-addition in the traditional natural diets. Their ingredients have tremendous impact on the health care system and may provide medical health benefits including the prevention and or treatment of diseases. Nutraceuticals have potential to be used as food supplement, preventive medicine and the growing evidence points in the direction that certain foods fight and or prevent against diseases.
The food may be nutraceutical i.e. a food or parts of food that provide medical health benefits including the prevention and or treatment of diseases. Functional foods provide specific benefits, and medical foods developed for use under medical supervision to treat or manage particular disease or nutritional deficiency stage. Nutraceutical and functional-foods are a hybrid of both the traditionally defined food and drug arenas. The word Nutraceuticals combines ‘nutrition’ and ‘pharmaceuticals’ to mean that food can be used as preventive drugs or food supplements. The entire concept is based on the disease preventing phytonutrients present in foodstuffs of the diet in combating diseases. The major phytonutrients identified to have nutraceutical properties include terpenes, phytosterols, phenols and theols. Carotenoids found in green leafy vegetables like amaranth, Chenopodium (goose foot), mustard, ‘Methi’, spinach and cabbage etc are precursor of vitamin A. They have preventive action against many eye diseases, cancer and also acts as antioxidant. Limonoids also acts as antioxidants by protecting lung tissues from oxygen free radicals. Antioxidants have been associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases and several types of cancer. They are known to act to defuse the volatile toxic molecules of free oxygen radicals, a by-product of cell metabolism. These are also produced in the body on exposure to sunlight, X-rays, ozone, tobacco smoke, auto-exhaust and other environmental pollutants. Carotenoids, tocopherols, ascorbates and polyphenols are strong natural antioxidants generally found in plants and foods. They enhance the body's detoxification activity and protect against certain type of cancers by eliminating ill health causing chemical from the body to prevent degenerative diseases. Phytosterols competes with dietary cholesterol for uptake in intestine thereby blocking cholesterol absorption into the body and can also prevent the development of tumor in breast and prostate glands. Phenols a large group of phytonutrients, with sub classes in flavonoids, biflavonoids, anthocyanines and isoflavonoids have profound importance in preventive medicine. Berries, grapes and eggplants are rich in phenolics and have protective action against oxidative damage of tissues and inflammation. It has been proved that phytochemicals can enhance the efficacy of vitamin C, can also act against allergies, ulcers, tumors, platelet aggregation, controlling hypertension and can reduce the risk of estrogen induced cancer. Anthocyanidines or flavonals have significant role in collagen protein synthesis and are important in sports medicine. Beans and other legumes are rich natural sources of protein with the necessary nutrients needed for a healthy body and many of them contain specific immune-boosting potential.
Theols are major sulfur containing phytonutrients and the nutraceutical foods rich in theols include garlic, onion, mustard, cabbage, turnip and chives. They are potent antimutagenic and anticarcinogenic agents and gives cardio vascular protection. Cruciferous vegetables are rich source of glucosinolates, which activate liver detoxification enzymes and can reduce tumor. They can also block the activity of toxins produced by bacteria and viruses thereby building immunity against diseases. Indoles found in citrus and gooseberries are effective against carcinogenic chemicals in the intestine. The herbs like alfalfa, Ginko biloba, Ginseng, St John's wort etc are considered to be good for brain development. Asparagus acts as immunomodulator, builds healthy capillary, RBC, stimulate kidney and protects liver.
Malnutrition is a major problem in the developing and third world countries resulting several diseases and low IQ in children. A child's capacity to learn is directly related to food intake and good nutrition (Child Nutrition Advisory Council, USA). The development of brain mainly depends on the health of pregnant and lactating mother finally on the quality of mother's diet. Similarly, the food also plays significant role in the general health of infants, growing children, diabetics, heart, nerves and aged. The right foods do have the power to heal, keeping good health of body functions, ageing, rejuvenating, immuno-modulating and prevention against diseases, just as the wrong foods can cause sickness, rapid ageing and premature death. The environmental and dietary factors i.e. poor nutrition habits are one of the co-factors for different diseases. To combat malnutrition and growing demand of nutraceuticals need tailoring practices through value addition to optimize the concentration and bioavailability of the desired food components.